Alex Eala opened her Grand Slam campaign in style with a 7-6 (1), 6-4 victory over higher-ranked Jessika Ponchet of France in the first qualifying round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships in Great Britain on Tuesday, June 25.

The world No. 162 Eala survived the hard-serving plays of Ponchet -- who fired six aces throughout the match -- to advance to the second qualifying round against Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek.

Zidansek, who is seeded 14^th in the qualifiers, needed an extra set to outlast You Xiaodi of China, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Ponchet has been a familiar opponent for Eala, having played against the world No. 133 Frenchwoman in four matches over the last three years.

Boasting of experience, the 27-year-old Ponchet has actually won over Eala in three of those four matchups including last year’s semifinals of the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz International Tennis Federation (ITF).

But Eala hopes to write a different outcome in their fifth matchup this time, attacking Ponchet with her hard smashes.

It didn’t come easy.

The Filipina tennis sensation almost stumbled in the opening set after seeing her commanding 5-2 lead vanish with Ponchet winning the next three games to tie it at 5-all.

Eala was quick to adjust, holding on to her ground especially in the tiebreak, to claim the opening frame.

She dictated the pace in the second set, breaking Ponchet’s serve twice to take a 3-1 edge that set the tone in the remaining games.